About Our School

Philosophy

Traditionally, the pharmacist's role has been that of a dispenser of medications.
However, this traditional method of practice is no longer adequate to ensure safety
and effectiveness in the use of medications and health devices. The focus of practice
must change from one of product distribution to a more expansive duty; assuming the
responsibility for our patients' outcomes from the medications they use.

Health care reform has put an emphasis on primary health care. This emphasis coupled
with a lack of access, increasingly rising costs, and a concern for quality is placing
the pharmacist in an important role as a member of the primary health care delivery
team.

Pharmacists are the most well dispersed health care professionals in the US; and pharmacies
are ubiquitous--located in most rural, suburban, and urban communities throughout
the country. This physical placement of the pharmacist, who is trained in delivering
comprehensive care to the public, allows access to primary health care where it is
critically lacking.

The role of the pharmacist as a member of the primary health care team does not replace
the physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, but enhances their effectiveness.
The pharmaceutical services provided in this changing arena will include participating
in the drug therapy decision process through recommending therapeutic objectives,
selecting the most appropriate drug product to achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes
given the patient's unique characteristics, determining dose and dosage schedule,
selecting the drug product source of supply and drug preparation, and monitoring the
patient's response to the therapy so that the patient receives the optimal benefits
with minimal adverse drug effects. Newer roles for pharmacists as therapeutic managers
of patients, including prescribing of legend medications pursuant to a physician's
written protocol, are being established by advanced trained pharmacists. TTUHSC School
of Pharmacy offers the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) with these expanded
roles of the pharmacist in mind. The effective delivery of essential primary health
care services requires a greater responsibility of the pharmacist and a greater depth
and breadth of education to support future practice.

TTUHSC School of Pharmacy is uniquely positioned to offer you these expanding educational
opportunities. The changing role of the pharmacist in comprehensive medication use
management is not always well understood. The faculty we have chosen for this school
are pharmacist/educators who perceive the new direction in pharmaceutical practice
and education and will foster its development. There are no traditions to overcome
nor outdated curriculum content to hamper the educational needs of today's pharmacy
student.

It is a goal of all educators to foster within students the desire to learn and the
ability to discover. Our curriculum has been designed to encourage your intellectual
development and help you to become a competent and skilled professional pharmacist.
This is accomplished through conceptual competence, technical competence, integrated
competence and career marketability.

Pharmaceutical education must provide students a fundamentally strong science base
enabling them to evaluate clinical studies and use data to reach conclusions regarding
a variety of issues. Students must be mathematically competent in the resolution of
problems related to drug therapy. Analytical and critical thinking must be cultivated
allowing today's pharmacy student to be effective in decision making. Communication
skills are essential in preparing the student to be an effective caregiver. Graduates
must have an understanding of the social context in which their profession is practiced.
They must learn to first listen in order to effectively convey information regarding
drug therapies. There must also be a sensitivity to patients of all socioeconomic
levels and whose native language is not English.

You will find that TTUHSC School of Pharmacy's program is student centered, focusing
on problem-based educational strategies. The curriculum provides an integrated course
context of pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and therapeutics. It
offers expanded practice management instruction and clinical experiences early and
throughout the four-year professional program. Each of the curricular and instructional
strategies have been precisely balanced to give you the academic and clinical preparation
to optimally succeed in your chosen profession.